Apparatus for coiling filamentary material



Aug. 26, 1958 e. E. HENNING APPARATUS FOR comma FILAMENTARY MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 9, 1955 JNVENTOR. G. E. HENN/NG ATTORNEY Aug. 26, 1958 G. E. HENNING ,194

APPARATUS FOR COILING FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Filed May 9, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

G. E. HEN/V/NG A TTORNEY United States Patent APPARATUS FOR COILING FILAMENTARY MATERIAL George Henning, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 9, 1955, Serial No. 507,078

4 Claims. (Cl. 242-82) This invention relates to apparatus for coiling filamentary material, and more particularly to apparatus upon which filamentary material can be wound and from which such material can be withdrawn conveniently.

In the manufacture of filamentary material, for example electrical conductors, it is necessary often to coil the material on a reel for storage after one or more operations have been performed on the material. Usually, a rotatable reel is placed in a material-receiving position, the material is secured thereto and the reel is rotated to wind the material thereon. When sufficient material is wound on the reel, the material is severed, and the coiled material is tied. The reel must then be detached from the material-receiving position, and, if it is desired to uncoil the material from the reel to perform other operations thereon, the reel must be transported to the other position where such operations are to take place. There, the reel is again mounted in a rotatable position, and the material is untied and withdrawn therefrom. This procedure is tedious and inconvenient due to the large number of handling operations on the material and the reel.

An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for coiling filamentary material.

A further object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus on which filamentary material can be wound and from which such material can be withdrawn conveniently.

Apparatus for coiling filamentary material, embodying certain features of the invention, may include a platform, a tapered material-receiving swift secured to the platform, and means associated with the platform for placing the swift in a material-receiving position. A vertical shaft is rotatably mounted within the swift and a flyer, having notches in the ends thereof, is loosely secured to the upper end of the shaft and above the swift, the flyer being designed to rotate normally with the shaft. A flexible tube is rotatably secured at one end above the flyer when the swift is in its material-receiving position, and coupling means are provided, secured to the other end of the flexible tube, for attaching that end to one of the notches in the flyer. Means are provided for feeding the filamentary material to the swift through the flexible tube and, further, means are provided for driving the shaft from the lower end thereof in synchronism with the feeding means.

A complete understanding of the invention may be had from the following detailed description of apparatus forming specific embodiments thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partially in section, of a filamentary material coiling apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevation, partially in section, of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is an alternative embodiment of a portion of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly ice to Fig. l, a portable core truck, designated generally at 10, is provided to receive filamentary material 11, for example, an insulated or bare wire. The core truck 10 comprises a platform 12 on which is secured a wirereceiving swift 15, which may be in the form of a drum made of sheet metal supported by a plurality of spiders 16-16 and tapered longitudinally of its axis as shown in Fig. l. The platform 12 is mounted on a plurality of casters 17-17 for ready movement, and has a cylindrical guard 20 secured thereto. Two curved guides 21-21 and a stop member 22 are formed from angle irons and secured to a floor 25. When two of the casters 17-17 are directed by the guides 21-21 so as to abut the stop member 22, as shown in Fig. 2, the core truck 10 is in its correct wire-receiving position.

A shaft 26 is mounted within the swift 15, and is supported for rotatable movement therein by suitable bearings 27-27, which are supported by the spiders 16-16. A fiyer 30 is loosely secured to the upper end of the shaft 26, and is designed to rotate with the shaft 26 under normal conditions. However, when desired, the fiyer 30 may be held stationary, by hand for examle, while the shaft 26 continues to rotate, This result can be accomplished by slidably mounting an apertured disk 31 over the shaft 26 and securing it thereto by welding, for example. The flyer 30 is then mounted on the disk 31 between a pair of felt pads 32-32, mounted slidably with respect to the shaft 26. Each of the pads 32-32 has an aperture in the center thereof, which ha a diameter less than the diameter of the shaft 26 so that sufii cient friction exists between the pads 32-32 and the shaft 26 to cause the flyer 30 normally to be rotated, but which allows the flyer to be stopped by hand with no danger to the operator.

To vary the friction between the pads 32-32 and the shaft 26, a second apertured disk 35 is mounted on the upper felt pad 32 and slidably mounted with respect to the shaft 26. A spring 36 is secured around the shaft 26 and between the disk 35 and a nut 37, which cooperates with a thread portion on the upper end of the shaft 26. By turning the nut 37, the friction between the felt pads 32-32 and the shaft 26 can be varied to vary the torque of the flyer 30. A guide 40 is secured near each end of the fiyer 30, and a notch 41 is also formed near each end of the flyer. The guide 40 may be in the form of a half tube with the lower side open, and the guide may be secured to the flyer 39 at a flattened end thereof, as shown in the drawings. The guide is curved and the other end thereof extends to a point near the center of the notch 41.

Connected to the lower end of the shaft 26 is a plate 42, which may be received within a slot 45 of a rotatably mounted cylindrical block 46. The plate 42 and the block 46 form a clutch-like driving mechanism which may be easily detached, but which positively drives the shaft 26. The block 46 is rotated by a shaft 47, which extends below the floor 25 and which is suitably supported for rotation within a bearing 50.

The shaft 47 is driven by a motor 51 through a gear box 52, which has a plurality of output shafts, one of which is shown at 55. The output shaft 55 is connected to the shaft 47, which rotates the block 46, through beveled gears 56-56, a shaft 57, a manually operable clutch 60, a shaft 61, beveled gears 62-62, a horizontal shaft 65, and beveled gears 66-66. The clutch may be one of the many types well known in the art, and may be operated manually by a handle 67. When the handle 67 is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the shafts 57 and 61 are connected together, and when the handle 67 is pulled down, the shafts are disconnected. The motor 51 and the gear box 52 are mounted on a horizontal channel 70, which is supported on vertical chan- 'ble tube 90,

nels 71 and 72. 'When the core truck is in its wirereceivingpositiqn it is below thechannel 7,0.

A capstan 75 is provided to deliver the wire 11 to the core truck 10. The capstan 75 and a plurality of small sheavesfit), 81 and 3 2 are rotatablymountedbn a;plate 85, which -is secured to the channel 70. Atbelt 86 .passes around the upper portion of the peripherytof the-capstan 75 and-around the sheaves 8010582, inclusive, in-.a continuous loop. Thecapstan 75 is driven by atsecond output shaft (not shown) extending from the gearbox 52 After ,the wire 11 .has had some operation performed thereon, such as a wire drawing or insulation-applying operation, .itis passed around .a sheave.87 rotatablysecured to ;the plate 85. The wire 11 is pulled by the capstan 75 by passing the wire from the sheave S7 and forcing .it between the belt-86 and. the capstan near the sheave 80. The wire 11 will travel around the upper periphery of the capstan '75 and emerge from. its position between the belt and the capstan at a point near the sheave 82.

Extending below the horizontal channel 70 is a-fiexiwhich is rotatably supported at one end thereof to the horizontal channel 70 by a ball and socket joint 91. The tube 90 is passed through and secured in a central aperture within the ball member of the joint 91. The socket portion of the joint 91 may be formed within the channel 70 so that the ball member is held therein against all but rotatable movement.

At the opposite end of the tube 90, a connector, shown generally at. 92 in Fig. 1, is affixed. The connector 92 connects the tube 90 to the notch 41 at one end -of the flyer 30 (Fig. 3). The connector 92 comprises two annular members 95 and 96 to which are secured outer ball bearing races 97 and 100, respectively. The outer races 97 and 100 cooperate with inner ball bearing races 101 and 102, respectively, which are secured rigidly to a metal sleeve 105 attached to the lower end of the flexible tube 90. A plurality of ball bearings 106-106 are secured between the inner and outer races.

A circular groove 107 is formed in the lower face of the annular member 95 near the periphery thereof, and a similar circular groove 110 is formed in the upper face of the member 96. The grooves 107 and 110 are designed to cooperate with a plurality of ball detents 111-111 and 112-112, respectively, which are secured within apertures 113-113 in the flyer 30 by retaining plates 116-116. The retaining plates are secured to the flyer 30 by a plurality of screws 117-117 and have a plurality of apertures 118-118 formed therein (Fig. 4). The diameter of each of the apertures 118-118 is smaller than that of the ball detents 111-111 and 112-112 and of such size that a portion of the ball detents can protrude therethrough. The diameter of each of the apertures 113-113 in the flyer 30 is slightly larger than that of the ball detents. Thus, the detents 111-111 and 112-112 are slidable within the apertures 113-113 and are retained therein by the plates 116-116. A plurality of springs 120-120, located between the ball detents 111-111 and 112-112, force the detents outward so that they protrude through the apertures 118-118 of the plates 116-116.

To connect the flexible tube 90 to the flyer 30, the connector 92 is placed within the notch 41 of the flyer 30 with the member 95 above and the member 96 below the flyer. The ball detents 111-111 and 112-112 are forced together within the apertures 113-113 by the members 95 and 96, and thereby compress the springs 120-120 until the grooves 107 and 110 are adjacent, respectively, thereto, at which time the detents will be forced outward by the springs 120-120 and into the grooves 107 and 110. Consequently, the connecting device 92 connects the flexible tube 90 to the flyer 30, and an easily attachable and detachable coupling device is formed thereby.

When the connector 92 is not conneced to the flyer 30,

.the tube90 may .besecured .within a suitable .springclip Operation In preparation for coiling the wire 11 onto the core truck 10, the wire is passed between the capstan and the belt 86, as hereinbefore described. The wire 11 is then passed through the flexible tube 90, which may be secured within the spring clip 114 until an empty core truck 10 is placed in the wire-receiving-position. The free end of the wire is allowed to protrude from the lower end of the tube 90.

The slot 45 of the block 46 is then adjusted to a position which is generally parallel to the guides 21-21. With the plate 42 of the core truck 10 in a somewhat similar direction, thercore truck is rolled to its wire receiving position between the guides 21-21 until the two forward casters 17-17 abut the stop member 22. The connector 92 then is attached to the more convenient of the notches-41-41 in the flyer 30 as hereinbefore described.

When the operation on the wire 11 is to begin, the motor'51 is energized and the capstan v75 pulls the wire 11 from the apparatus performing such operation and feeds it through the tube 90. The operator then actuates :the clutch 60 to connect the shafts 57 and 61. Actuation .of the clutch 60 causes rotation of the cylindrical block 46, and rotation of the shaft 26 due to the connection of the plate 42 and the block 46. Because of the friction connection afforded by the felt pads 32- 32, rotation of the shaft 26 causes rotation of the flyer 30. This friction-type connection also permits theoperator to stop the flyer 30 while the shaft 26 continues to rotate so that the connector 92 can be attached to the flyer30 as hereinbefore described.

After such connection, the operator holds the free end of the wire 11 within the path of the guide 40, and releases the flyer 30. After several turns of the wire 11 have been made around the swift 15, the operator may release the free end of the wire 11 and the coiled portions-thereof will fall down the tapered swift 15 to the platform .12 between the cylindrical guard 20 and the swift 15. The coil will build to a desired level (as shown, for example, in outline in Fig. l), and the resultant coil will be tightly packed-due tothe tension on the wire 11 caused by friction between the wire and the guide 40.

A metering device (not shown) may be placed at any desired position along the path of the wire 11 to indicate the length of wire being coiled ion the core truck 10. When a desired length is coiled thereon, the operator stops the flyer 30 manually, severs the wire 11 at a point adjacent to the lower end of the tube 90, and secures the tube within the spring clip 114, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. When the tube 90 is in this dotted Tline position, the wire 11 will continue to be fed therefrom and will fall on the floor until an empty core truck 10 is placed into position. The wire falling on the floor will not be wound up,.but this waste is permissible because it is extremely advantageous to permitthe wiredrawing or covering operation to continue uninterruptedly while the core trucks are being changed.

After the wire 11 has been severed bythe operator, the handle 67 of the clutch 60 is pulled down to disengage the driving mechanism for the flyer 30. With the slot 45 aligned parallel to the guides 21-21, the filled core truck 10 is rolled from its wire-receiving position and an empty truck is replaced therefor. The operator cuts-off the-waste wire, attaches the connector 92 to the flyer 30 of the empty core truck 10, engages the clutch 60 andproceeds as described hereinbefore.

A filled. core truck 10 .of the present invention can also be used to pay 0d the wire at another position. After being rolled on the casters 17-17 to such position, the wire 11 is pulled from a position above the core truck 14} in a path including the guide 40 and the notch 41. While withdrawing the wire in such a manner, the flyer 30 and the shaft 26 may rotate freely, and the friction between the wire 11 and the guide and the notch 4-1 will be sufficient to give the required tension to the wire so that the coil of wire 11 on the swift 15 will remain tightly packed until substantially all of the wire 11 is withwdrawn therefrom. If more friction is desired, the shaft 26 may be held stationary by suitable means. Greater tension will be imparted to the wire 11 due to the friction between the flyer 3t) and the felt pads 32-32, than when the shaft 26 is permitted to rotate.

Alternative embodiment Instead of employing the clutch-like member formed by the plate 12 and the block 46, and the clutch as, a clutch alone may be used to selectively control the rotation of the flyer 30. Referring to Fig. 5, a clutch, shown generally at 121, is positioned below the Wire-receiving position of the core truck 10. Although a magnetic clutch is depicted in Fig. 5, either a magnetic, friction or mechanical clutch may be used in this embodiment.

An annular magnet 122 is energized by a magnet coil (not shown) therein, and is supported on a hub (not shown) which also supports two collector rings 124-12 The hub is connected to and rotated by a shaft 147, which is similar to the aforementioned shaft 47, and is constantly driven in a similar manner as the shaft 47, except that no clutch, similar to the clutch 60 of Fig. l, is necessary. Two brushes 125-125 are mounted adjacent to and in contact with the collector rings 124-124 to supply a D. C. voltage to the magnet coil to energize the magnet 122. The voltage is applied across two leads 127-127 connected to the brushes 125-125.

An armature disk 128 is secured to a plate 13ft, which is connected to a shaft 126. The shaft 126 is similar to the shaft 26, and drives a flyer similar to the flyer Stl. The disk 128 is secured to the plate 130 by a plurality of springs 131-131 so that the disk 128 is held by the springs in the position shown in Fig. 5 when the magnet 122 is de-energized. When the magnet 122 is energized, however, by applying a D. C. voltage across the magnet coil through the leads 127-127 and the brushes 125-125, the magnet 122 attracts the armature disk 12.8 into engagement therewith, and the magnet and the armature are held together by magnetic attraction so that they rotate as a unit. Thus, rotation is imparted to the shaft 126 and to the flyer connected to the upper end thereof, when a D. C. voltage is applied across the leads 127-127.

The operation of winding the wire 11 onto a core truck 10 having a clutch of the type shown in Fig. 5 is more convenient than one having a clutch of the type shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in that it is neither necessary to align members similar to the plate 42 and the block 46, nor to manually actuate a clutch similar to the clutch 60. The core truck 10 is easily rolled into the correct wire winding position, since the armature disk 128 is held. in its upper position above the clutch 121 by the springs 131-131, and the flyer is rotated by closing a switch (not shown) to apply a voltage across the leads 127-127. Otherwise, the wire coiling operation using the structure of Fig. 5 is identical with the operation using the structure of Figs. 1 and 2. g

It will be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific details described in connection with the above embodiments of the invention. It is manifest that various modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for coiling filamentary material, which gomprises a platform, a tapered material-receiving swift secured to said platform, means associated with said platform for placing said swift in a material-receiving position, a vertical shaft rotatably mounted within said swift, a fiyer having notches in the ends thereof loosely secured to the upper end of said shaft and above said swift and designed to rotate normally with said shaft, a flexible tube rotatably secured at one end above said flyer when said swift is in said material-receiving position, coupling means secured to the other end of said tube attaching said other end to one of said notches in said flyer, means for feeding said material to said swift through said tube, and means for driving said shaft from the lower end thereof in synchronism with the feeding means.

2. In combination with means for feeding and guiding filamentary material, a truck which comprises a portable platform, a drum-shaped swift secured to said platform, a shaft rotatably mounted within said swift and longitudinally thereof, a fiyer secured loosely to one end of said shaft and designed to rotate normally therewith, means for detachably coupling said guiding means to said flyer to direct the filamentary material thereto, said fiyer being designed to lay the material around said swift and assist in the withdrawal of the material therefrom, a first-clutch member driven by and in synchronism with the filamentary material feeding and guiding means, and a companion clutch member secured to the other end of said shaft and designed to cooperate with said first clutch member to drive said flyer when said material is to be laid around said swift.

3. Apparatus for coiling filamentary material such as elongated electrical wires, or the like, which comprises a platform, a drum-shaped swift secured to said platform, a plurality of casters secured to said platform permitting said swift to be placed in a wire-receiving position, a shaft rotatably mounted longitudinally within said swift and protruding from the ends thereof, a flyer loosely secured to the upper end of said shaft and designed to normally rotate therewith, a supporting frame secured above the position occupied by said swift when said swift is in the wire-receiving position, a flexible tube rotatably secured at one end to said frame, a coupling device secured to the other end of said tube designed to secure said tube rotatably to said flyer, means for feeding wire to said swift through said tube, driving means for rotating said shaft, and a clutch interposed between said driving means and the lower end of said shaft for selectively controlling the rotation of said flyer.

4. Apparatus for coiling filamentary material, which comprises a base, driving means associated with said base, a platform, a plurality of casters secured rotatably to said platform, a tapered material-receiving swift secured to said platform, a vertical shaft mounted rotatably within said swift, positioning means secured to said base for directing said casters and designed to place said vertical shaft in operative position with said driving means and to place said swift in a material-receiving position, a flyer having notches in the ends thereof secured loosely to the upper end of said shaft and above said swift and designed to rotate normally with said shaft, a flexible tube secured rotatably above said flyer when said swift is in said material-receiving position, coupling means secured to the other end of said tube attaching said other end to one of the notches in said flyer, means for feeding said material to said swift through said tube, and means for energizing said driving means such that said shaft is rotated in synchronism with said feeding means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 627,722 Edwards June 27, 1899 1,834,993 Atwood Dec. 8, 1931 2,370,922 Siegenthaler Mar. 6, 1945 

